A meeting between Justice Minister Helen McEntee and Britain's Home Secretary has been postponed amid a brewing migration row.
Helen McEntee and James Cleverly were due to discuss migrants arriving here from the UK through Northern Ireland.
The talks were called off on Sunday night after comments over the weekend from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak where he suggested that the number of migrants going to Ireland shows the UK Rwanda scheme is 'already having an impact' as a deterrent.
Mr Sunak also suggested comments from the Irish Government show that illegal migration was a "global challenge".
A spokesperson for Minister McEntee said she "looks forward to her meeting with the Home Secretary being rescheduled soon."
The meeting was postponed due to an "unavoidable diary clash on the part of the Home Secretary."
Taoiseach Simon Harris in the courtyard at Government Buildings, 25-4-24. Image: Leah Farrell / © RollingNews.ieTaoiseach Simon Harris has said Ireland would "not provide a loophole for anybody else's migration challenges".
He also said that "close" collaboration and cooperation between both governments was "not just desirable, but absolutely essential".
However, a UK government source said the country will not take back asylum seekers who cross the border into Ireland "until the EU accepts that we can send them back to France".
Minister McEntee will bring proposals to Cabinet this week to return people back to the UK when appropriate.
The legislation is being drafted in response to a High Court ruling that found Ireland designating the UK as a "safe third country" for returning asylum seekers, in the context of the Rwanda plan, is contrary to European Union law.
London meeting
It comes as Tánaiste Micheál Martin is in London for a meeting of the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference.
Mr Martin will co-chair the gathering along with the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris.
Minister McEntee was due to attend the meeting in London with the Tánaiste but has since pulled out.
The conference is set to discuss a wide range of issues including political stability, security cooperation and addressing the legacy of the Troubles.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, the Tánaiste said he's looking forward to a 'productive conference'.
"I am pleased to be in London for another important meeting of the BIIGC, the first such meeting since the restoration of the Strand I and Strand II institutions," he said.
"As ever, there are numerous areas of mutual interest for the Governments to discuss and I look forward to another productive conference."
Tánaiste Micheál Martin speaking to the media ahead of the Fianna Fáil Cairde dinner at the Clayton Burlington Hotel in Dublin, 7-10-23. Photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ieLast week the Tánaiste said the threat of deportation to Rwanda from the UK is impacting on people's decision to come to Ireland.
Micheál Martin told Newstalk the Rwanda policy was already affecting Ireland as people were "fearful" of staying in the UK.
Britain's Rwanda Bill, which will see asylum seekers "entering the UK illegally" sent to the central African nation - regardless of the outcome of their application - was passed last week despite human rights concerns.
Mr Martin said asylum seekers were seeking "to cross the border to get sanctuary here within the European Union as opposed to the potential of being deported to Rwanda".
